Interior Design: It's all in the details
Interior Design: It's all in the details
By Interior Designer, Elizabeth Howell-Jones
Once your room is furnished with all the elements in place, it’s time to personalize the space to reflect your personality and to give your interior design individuality as unique as your own. These are the special details and decorative objects you select.
Decorative objects fall into two categories: art and accessories.
Art should not be treated just as an afterthought since it can have a huge impact in your space. Historically walls were covered with art creating visual chaos. Today art is shown to great effect in an uncluttered way. This might mean hanging one large modern painting alone on the wall or hanging smaller art cohesively together.
It takes some trial and error to create a pleasing wall arrangement.
Here’s how to do it:
1. There should be some feature which ties the grouping together, such as colour or a common theme such as ships or botanicals. Another way to unify your artwork is by using matching frames or mats. Black and white photography will work as an arrangement even if the frames don’t match.
2. Choose your wall space. Once you have decided on your location you will need to assess how large the artwork needs to be so that it is proportionally correct. If it is to hang over a piece of furniture like a sofa, the picture frame should be approximately two-thirds the size of the piece over which it hangs. This measurement is the same if you plan to hang one picture or more. Critical too is the height you hang your art, which should hang 6 – 9 inches above a sofa or at eye level when you are seated. Too high, and it will look like it’s floating; too low, and it will interfere with headroom.
3. Experiment with the elements. Before you hammer a nail into the wall, place all of the art on the floor, and try out different arrangements. A vertical grouping will make the room seem higher; a horizontal one will make the room seem wider. You don’t need to arrange everything in a row. I have included an illustration of some other geometric placement possibilities.
Now that you know the secrets of success, have some fun with it and make it a pleasurable experience. A little effort on your part will pay big dividends and it’s guaranteed to be noticed.
By Interior Designer, Elizabeth Howell-Jones
Once your room is furnished with all the elements in place, it’s time to personalize the space to reflect your personality and to give your interior design individuality as unique as your own. These are the special details and decorative objects you select.
Decorative objects fall into two categories: art and accessories.
Art should not be treated just as an afterthought since it can have a huge impact in your space. Historically walls were covered with art creating visual chaos. Today art is shown to great effect in an uncluttered way. This might mean hanging one large modern painting alone on the wall or hanging smaller art cohesively together.
It takes some trial and error to create a pleasing wall arrangement.
Here’s how to do it:
1. There should be some feature which ties the grouping together, such as colour or a common theme such as ships or botanicals. Another way to unify your artwork is by using matching frames or mats. Black and white photography will work as an arrangement even if the frames don’t match.
2. Choose your wall space. Once you have decided on your location you will need to assess how large the artwork needs to be so that it is proportionally correct. If it is to hang over a piece of furniture like a sofa, the picture frame should be approximately two-thirds the size of the piece over which it hangs. This measurement is the same if you plan to hang one picture or more. Critical too is the height you hang your art, which should hang 6 – 9 inches above a sofa or at eye level when you are seated. Too high, and it will look like it’s floating; too low, and it will interfere with headroom.
3. Experiment with the elements. Before you hammer a nail into the wall, place all of the art on the floor, and try out different arrangements. A vertical grouping will make the room seem higher; a horizontal one will make the room seem wider. You don’t need to arrange everything in a row. I have included an illustration of some other geometric placement possibilities.
Now that you know the secrets of success, have some fun with it and make it a pleasurable experience. A little effort on your part will pay big dividends and it’s guaranteed to be noticed.